Career Day
by rewob17
Summary: Steve and Danny are asked to present at Grace's school for Career Day. What could possibly go wrong?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: They aren't mine. They never will be. I have no money so suing me is pointless...

Author's Note: I'm back! Real Life has really conspired against me in the writing of this story, but I think I have finally prevailed! This story is complete so I should be able to post fairly frequently unless, of course, Real Life gets in the way again.

On with the story - enjoy!

* * *

Career Day

The Academy of the Sacred Hearts was an imposing building. Danny had always thought so but didn't notice as much when there were kids everywhere waiting to be picked up by their parents. It always made him feel a little inadequate,but then again, it could be that the cost of sending a child there was what made him feel inadequate and overwhelmed. Good thing he wasn't paying the tuition. "_Nope, not going there,"_ thought Danny. "_Not going down that train of thought_."

Danny was pulled from his thoughts by a familiar yell, "Hey, Danno!"

"What have I told you about that?" Danny turned to find his partner walking towards him, huge grin plastered on his face. "Oh, man, you're dressed like Rambo! Why are you dressed like Rambo?"

Steve looked down at his clothes as if he didn't realize what he was wearing, "What? This is my uniform, Danny."

"It's camouflage! Couldn't you at least have worn your dress uniform?" Danny pointed at the bag slung over Steve's shoulder. "And what's that? Tell me you don't have weapons in there. This is a school, Steven, you do not need to bring your arsenal in with you."

"No arsenal. Just a few hand grenades to pass around so the kids can see what they look like," Steve smirked.

Danny pointed at his partner, "Not funny, my friend. Not funny!"

"Hey, guys," another voice greeted them.

Steve slapped Danny's shoulder, "You didn't tell me Gabby was coming, too."

"I've said it before, and I will say it again. I do not need to tell you everything." Danny shrugged, hands held out. "Besides, now you know. Gabby's coming."

"Hi, Gabby," Steve smiled at his partner's girlfriend. "What are you doing here?"

Gabby smiled, "Actually, Grace asked me to present as well."

Danny threw his partner a glare before smiling at Gabby and addressing both of them, "Grace's teacher asked each of the students to come up with one person for the Career Day presentations. At last count, Grace had given her eight names. She was asked to narrow it down to two or three." Danny gestured to their little group. "We all made the final cut."

Steve laughed, "Who were the others?"

Danny scratched the back of his neck, "I believe she thought Max might be interesting."

"Maybe a little too interesting," Steve noted.

"And Kamekona, Charlie, Chin, Kono, Malia..."

"I think Grace is pretty excited. This is all she talked about last weekend." Gabby laughed.

Danny grinned, "Yeah, she called me four times last night to make sure I knew what time to be here."

"Huh," Steve grunted, "She only called me twice."

Danny stared at his partner, "Really? She called you?"

Steve waved away his partner's concern, "It's okay, Danny. I didn't mind. I'm quite flattered she wanted me to come talk about being in the Navy."

Danny pointed at his partner again, "Just remember that these are fourth graders we're talking to. You do NOT get to tell them about the ten best ways to kill a person or how to set the perfect ambush or how to swear in three different languages..."

"I got it. I got it," Steve held up his hands in surrender. "And I know how to swear fluently in at least five different languages."

Danny waved a hand in the air and looked at Gabby, "Of course he does. He's an animal."

Gabby put a hand on Danny's arm, "C'mon, let's go inside before we're late."

"Yeah, c'mon, Danno," Steve smirked, "This is going to be great!"

"You're right," Danny agreed. "It will be great. You won't get me shot at today. What sort of trouble could you get me into with a room full of 4th graders?"

"Maybe we'll get sent to the principal's office." Steve laughed.

Gabby shook her head as the two men continued their banter all the way into the school building.

* * *

Raise your hand if you think the partners will find a way to get into trouble and it's not going to be as easy as they thought...

Reviews are welcome and appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

Grace Williams tried not to fidget as she sat on the floor of her school's multi-purpose room. The fourth and fifth graders were gathered to watch the Career Day presentations which had started twenty minutes ago. Each student had to introduce his or her guest and since Grace had invited three people, the teachers decided her visitors would go last. Each presenter was given ten minutes to give their presentation and after everyone was done, students would have time to go talk to the presenters and ask questions in person. By the time it was all over, it would be time for the students to go to lunch and a regular afternoon schedule.

Grace listened as Billy's mom, a helicopter pilot for a local site-seeing company, finished her presentation. Grace eagerly jumped to her feet and went to the small stage at the front of the room when her teacher motioned for her. She grinned at her Danno as she took the microphone from her teacher, "My name is Grace Williams, and I would like to introduce our last three speakers. Dr. Gabrielle Asano is the curator of historic and culture affairs for the Bishop Museum, Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett is the head of the Five-O task force here in Hawaii as well as being a Navy SEAL, and my dad, Detective Danny Williams, second in command of the Five-O task force."

Danny beamed with pride as his little girl made her introductions and handed the microphone to Gabby to present. Grace came and sat next to him rather than returning to her seat in the audience. He leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Good job, Monkey."

Grace nodded and whispered back, "My teacher helped me write the introduction."

Danny watched Gabby give her presentation about the museum and marveled at her ease in dealing with large groups and presenting her material so the kids could understand. Steve went next, and Danny had to admit that his partner did a decent job though Danny was curious as to what was in his bag as all Steve would tell the audience was that he had brought some cool toys to look at.

Danny had just taken the microphone from Steve when he froze as he heard a sound he'd hoped to never hear at any school, let alone his daughter's school. He turned to Steve, "Was that...?"

Steve was almost back to his seat when he heard the sound. He turned to Danny, his shocked expression a mirror of his partner's, "Automatic weapons."

The audience members started to get restless but Danny quickly gestured for them to settle down and the look on his face combined with the teachers' quiet admonitions, had them quiet again in no time.

The small group on the stage were the only ones to hear Steve's observation that they were hearing weapons so he gestured to the other presenters, "Quietly but quickly go sit with your kids. Keep them calm."

Just then, the loud speakers in the gym crackled to life and a breathless voice announced, "_All teachers take your computers to the library. I repeat, all teachers take your computers to the..."_ The speakers quickly cut out as did the lights.

"Oh, no!" Mrs. Kealani, the school's guidance counselor, whispered as her hand flew to her mouth in shock.

"What?" Danny and Steve both rushed to her side.

Mrs. Kealani took a deep breath and quickly regained her composure. "That's the code to lock down the building. It means there's a threat in the building and teachers are to lock their classes in their rooms and not come out until the all clear is given."

Danny sighed. Grace quickly grabbed his hand as he approached and he tried to smile at his little girl, "We're gonna be okay, Monkey."

"What's going on, Danno?" Grace's voice hadn't sounded this small and unsure in a long time.

"I don't know yet, Grace, but we're gonna figure it out, okay?" Danny turned to the woman standing next to Gabby, "Mrs. Kealani, we need to find a safe place for these kids."

"Preferably without leaving this area." Steve chimed in as he looked all around the multi-purpose room.

Mrs. Kealani shrugged, "There's a small utility closet back there, but it would only hold about a dozen kids."

Danny looked all around the mostly open room. Suddenly, he had a thought, "What about here?" He pointed down.

"Danny?" Steve questioned, brow furrowed.

Mrs. Kealani nodded, "That might be possible. That's where we store the chairs and other things, but right now, most of the chairs are out so there might be enough room."

Steve still looked a little lost so Danny clued him in, "The stage, Steve, it's hollow underneath for storage."

"Good idea," he patted his partner on the shoulder. "I'm going to go keep an eye on the door. You get the kids stashed and we'll go see what's going on."

"What can I do?" Gabby asked.

"Help Mrs. Kealani get the kids under here," Danny told her. "And pray we're wrong about what we think's going on."

Gabby nodded and went to help usher kids, parents, and teachers under the stage.

"Alright, Monkey," Danny knelt in front of Grace. "It's your turn. I need you to stay with Gabby and be very quiet, okay?"

Grace gripped his hand tighter, "But I want to stay with you. I'm scared."

"I know, Baby, I know," Danny gave her a hug and then pulled back again to look her in the eyes. "But I need you to be brave, okay? Help show the other kids what needs to be done. Uncle Steve and I are just going to check what's going on. We'll be back in no time."

"C'mon, Grace," Gabby took her hand. "It'll be okay."

Grace reluctantly let go of Danny's hand and took Gabby's. "I love you, Danno."

"I love you too, Monkey," he tousled her hair and smiled.

Gabby gave him a quick kiss before she crawled under the stage and hugged Grace to her as they settled on the floor with the rest of the group. She watched as Danny started to close the panel to hide them underneath and caught his eye again, "Be safe."

Danny nodded, "We'll be right back."

"I guess we're going to end up in the principal's office after all," Steve whispered as Danny joined him by the door.

"Looks like it. I don't suppose you have any weapons in that bag of yours, do you?"

Even in the near total darkness, Steve could see the worry etched on his partner's face despite the light tone of voice. "Sorry, Danny, but I do have these." He held up a pair of goggles.

"Night vision goggles?" Danny shook his head and half chuckled. "Has anyone ever told you that you have a Superman complex?"

"Maybe a time or two, but I don't think Superman could see in the dark, Danno."

"Whatever," Danny waved his observation aside. "Hang on, I'll be right back." Danny made his way back over to a table to search through his own bag of goodies. Once he found what he was looking for, he rejoined his partner.

"Whatcha got?" Steve wondered.

"I've got my vest," he said as he quickly threw it on and cinched the velcro sides tight. "A pair of cuffs and a baton."

"It's a start, and at least it's some sort of weapon."

"Yeah, great, one baton against who knows how many bad guys with automatic weapons. I feel so much better." Danny snarked.

"Sarcasm does not become you, Danno," Steve paused and as his partner opened his mouth to reply, he continued. "Oh, hell, who am I kidding? You are sarcasm!"

Danny nodded, satisfied, "Thank you." He was poised to say more when they were interrupted by the buzzing of a vibrating cell phone. Danny patted his pockets. "Not mine."

"Got it," Steve took his phone from one of his many pants pockets and looked at Danny as he answered, "Chin, we've got a bit of a situation here."

"_What's going on, Brah? There's all sorts of dispatch chatter about a school shooting. Grace's school."_

"Danny and I are here," Steve whispered while Danny kept an eye on the hallway from the cracked open door. "We heard automatic weapons a little bit ago, but haven't figured out what's going on yet. We were about to try to make it to the principal's office to see what they knew. Someone was able to get on the intercom and use the code to lock down the school."

"_They must have hit an alarm button as well_," Chin informed him. "_Dispatch got the signal, but the phones are dead so they can't get a hold of anyone. SWAT's on their way."_

"Tell them to approach carefully," Steve instructed. "And let them know we're in here. We have... hold on." Steve stopped as Danny threw up a hand and quickly put a finger to his lips as he eased the doors all but closed.

Danny watched through the minute crack in the doors as several black-clad figures thundered down the hallway. After several seconds, he signaled the all clear to Steve.

"Chin? We've got at least," he looked as Danny held up his hands and began gesturing, "seven hostiles dressed in black and wearing masks. They all have automatic weapons."

"_Kono and I are on our way,"_ Chin informed him. "_You guys need anything?"_

"I don't have a vest, and neither one of us has our weapon. Danny's car and my truck are here in the visitor's lot so if you grab the spare keys out of my office, you can get most of what we'll need in the vehicles."

"_Gotcha. We're on our way, and we'll figure out a way to get this stuff to you and get you guys out of this mess. Is Grace okay? How's Danny holding up with this?"_

"Yeah, Grace is good," Steve glanced at his partner. "We're good. Hey, have Kono give Rachel a call so she doesn't hear this on the news. Just tell her Danny's a little busy and can't talk right now." Danny nodded his thanks at him. "Let us know when you get here."

"_Be careful, Brah."_

Steve double checked that his phone was still silenced before stowing it in a pocket and looked at Danny. "You ready?"

Danny nodded, grimly. "As I'll ever be. Let's do this."

* * *

A/N: I have no idea if schools would have an alarm button to connect them to police or not, but it sounded good for the story and it's really not a bad idea. I mean, if banks can do it why not schools? The phrase used in the story to signify a threat in the school is one that a school I used to teach at actually used. Thankfully, we never had to use it for real, but we were all made aware that that phrase was the lockdown signal for the building.

You guys are awesome with your reviews, favorites, follows etc. Thank you all so much, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story.


	3. Chapter 3

The two partners made their way down the deserted hallway towards the principal's office. Steve led the way staying as close to the wall as possible. Danny followed, keeping an eye behind them for any threats.

After several tense minutes, they made it to the office area near the front entrance of the building. As they approached, Steve glanced to the main entrance doors. He patted Danny's arm and pointed towards the doors. They were rigged with explosives.

"No timer," Steve whispered. "But no one is coming in or going out that way any time soon."

Danny shook his head grimly.

The two men crouched on either side of the doors to the office area. Danny quickly peeked through the glass windows into the office area. No one in sight. He motioned for Steve and quietly opened the door for Steve to enter. Danny followed quickly behind him.

The two Five-0 leaders were standing in the main office area which consisted of an open desk area where the school secretary and attendance secretary sat with a counter surrounding their desks to provide them some measure of privacy while students and parents were in the office. There was a narrow hallway to the right of those desks with two offices on each side of the hallway. All the office doors were open except one.

Steve and Danny quietly made their way down that hall and cleared the three open offices before turning to the closed door hiding the remaining office. The plaque affixed to the door announced that this was the principal's office.

Steve and Danny stood on either side of the door, feeling naked and vulnerable without their weapons. The partners looked at each other, communicating more with their eyes than some people did using words. Danny slowly twisted the doorknob, surprised to find it unlocked. He nodded at Steve who gripped the baton tightly and rushed through the door as Danny quickly flung it open and then followed on his partner's heels.

The occupants of the room all gasped and jumped as the two Five-0's burst into the room. Steve and Danny quickly took in their surroundings and relaxed slightly. Again, Danny stayed at the door while Steve knelt next to an injured man.

Another man who had been helping tend the injured man stood and approached Danny, "You're Grace Williams' father, aren't you?"

Danny nodded, "Detective Danny Williams, Five-0. This is my partner, Commander Steve McGarrett. Steve, Mr. Park is the principal."

Steve nodded at the principal and turned back to the wounded man, "This doesn't look too bad. What happened?"

One of the ladies to the side began to fill them in, "We were just working when suddenly two men dressed all in black, burst in and started yelling stuff. They shot up the office and then they pistol whipped him."

"What were they yelling?"

"They wanted the master list of classes and students."

"Did they ask for anyone in particular?" Danny wondered.

The woman shook her head, "No, they just grabbed the list once I found it in the side room."

"Were you the one on the intercom?" Steve asked.

The woman nodded, shakily, "Yes, while I was getting the list, I was right next to the intercom button. They got so mad and then the power went out. I thought... oh, my God... I thought I was going to die!"

Steve patted her shoulder gently and looked into her eyes, helping her to keep from breaking down, "You're okay. You did fine. You got the lock down signal sent which is good, and HPD got the alarm signal so they're on their way."

"Wait a minute," the principal interrupted. "HPD is on their way? How did you get here so fast?"

"Career Day," Danny spoke from the door. "We were here speaking to the 4th and 5th graders in the multi-purpose room."

"What about the kids in the multi-purpose room?" the principal wondered.

"They're okay," Danny assured them. "They're hiding under the stage until we can figure out a way to get them out of here safely."

"If there's no one out there," the principal gestured towards the front of the building. "Why don't we all just go out the front door and run?"

Danny and Steve exchanged glances. Steve was the one to break the silence, "The front door is rigged with explosives."

As expected, the school staff gasped at this information.

"Speaking of," Danny looked at his partner. "We need to call Chin with that little piece of information."

"Danny, call Chin and update him. Mr. Park, what other exits are there?"

As Steve talked with the principal, Danny pulled out his phone and found Chin's number.

"_Hey, Danny, how are things going?"_

"The day just keeps getting better," Danny replied. "Steve and I made it to the principal's office. We have one person with a minor injury, but everyone else is okay. Chin, the front doors are rigged with explosives."

There was a pause as Chin digested the information, "_I'll get word to SWAT and bring in the bomb squad. We're two minutes out, but at least two HPD cruisers are already there."_

"Steve's checking on other exits so we can see about evacuating. We need to know if they have anyone stationed outside."

_"We're on it, Brah. Hang on while I relay to dispatch."_

Danny moved the phone to the side and turned to Steve, "Chin and Kono are almost here. They're letting dispatch know about the explosives. A couple HPD cruisers are already here."

"Tell Chin he's the Incident Commander. I think we have an exit to use if the hostiles didn't find it. We'll have to go check it out and make sure."

Danny nodded, and turned his attention back to the phone as Chin came back on line, "Hey, Chin, our fearless leader just appointed you Incident Commander."

_"No pressure,"_ Chin joked. "_We just pulled up. Kono is checking the perimeter and getting HPD on road barricades."_

"Good, you're going to have anxious parents showing up as soon as word gets out. HPD's gonna have to keep them outta here and keep 'em calm."

"_We're on it. We... Whoa! Damn, that's not good!"_

"Chin! Chin! What's going on, man?" Danny had to keep from yelling into the phone as he heard Chin's sudden exclamation.

"_We have a shooter on the roof,"_ Chin explained. "_He just took some shots at the HPD chopper."_

Steve's head had whipped around as Danny asked what was going on. Danny might not have been yelling, but he definitely had that yelling tone of voice going on. He quirked an eyebrow at Danny as his partner looked at him.

"Shooter on the roof just took some pot shots at the HPD chopper," Danny explained as he listened to Chin issue orders on the other end of the phone. "Sounds like Chin's moving the perimeter back another couple of blocks."

Steve nodded, "Good move."

"Yeah, Chin, I'm still here." Danny's attention focused again on the phone while he continued to watch for threats through the door. "Okay, Steve thinks we may have found an exit, but we have to go check it out first to make sure it's not compromised. We'll be in touch... Yeah, you, too."

"Alright, we need to get moving," Steve pointed out. "You're going to come with us, but you're going to have to be very quiet and stay together since we don't know where the hostiles are."

"Do you have anything in here that could be used as a weapon?" Danny wondered. "And do you have a master key? If we're going to be able to use this exit, we're going to need to get into classrooms."

Principal Park nodded and went over to his desk, "Here is a master key, and will this work for a weapon?"

Danny grinned as he saw Mr. Park hold out a baseball bat. "When playing, I prefer a wooden bat, but I think for suspects, aluminum should be just about right." He hefted it, testing the weight and balance and taking a couple of practice swings. His grin got bigger, "Nice!"

"Whenever you're ready, Babe Ruth," Steve gestured to the door.

* * *

A/N: Again, thank you to all who are reviewing and following this story. I appreciate hearing from all of you.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I am humbled by all the kind words and reviews for this story. Thank you all so much!

This chapter is for Fifilla - I haven't been able to get a comment she made about one of my other stories out of my head so I had to work it into this one! If you have read my story "We've All Had Better Weeks" you may remember my orginal character, Officer Robertson. He's back! If you haven't read that story, it's okay, but part of this won't won't be as amusing if you don't know what I'm referring to.

Okay, on with the story - this is the longest chapter yet, but I wanted to tide you over since I probably won't be able to update this weekend. Enjoy.

* * *

Danny led their little group as quickly down the hall as they could while still being quiet and checking for threats. Steve brought up the rear. After several minutes, they stopped near a classroom. Danny held up a hand to stop the group and Steve quickly joined him.

"I'll go in first..." Steve started to say.

"Oh, no you don't, Rambo," Danny pointed at his partner's clothes. "You're likely to give everyone in there a coronary if you bust in. At least I have my badge on."

Steve didn't want to, but he had to concede that Danny had a point. "Fine, I'll unlock the door and you go in. We'll take them with us and hope that exit is available."

Danny nodded at Steve when ready and entered the room in a crouch. He quickly took in his surroundings and despite the dim conditions due to the power still being out, he spotted the small group of students and teacher huddled in the corner to his left. There was no sign of a threat. Danny approached the group and spoke with the teacher, "I'm Detective Danny Williams, Five-0. Is everyone okay?"

"Yes, yes, we're okay," she nodded. "The kids are scared, but they're doing great."

Danny nodded and smiled at the class of what he would guess as second graders. "Yes, they are."

"What's going on?"

Danny glanced at the students, not wanting to frighten them any more than they already were, and chose his words as carefully as he could, "We have a bit of a situation. My partner and I think we have a way of getting you out of the building so if you'll come with me, we'll see what we can do." He directed his attention to the kids as well. "We'll all have to stay together and be very quiet, okay?"

The teacher and kids all nodded and followed Danny out into the hallway where they joined the small group from the office. The teachers quickly paired up students with a buddy and had them join hands with a reminder to follow directions and not talk.

Steve made his way back to the back of the group again whispering to them as he went, "Remember, we need to be quiet. We're headed to the multi-purpose room."

Danny was about to round the last corner before the multi-purpose room when a figure in black suddenly appeared. Danny swung the bat and hit the man in the stomach, driving the breath out of him in a whoosh and causing him to double over. He heard Steve order the group to get down as he brought the bat down on the back of the hostile's head. The man collapsed in a heap and didn't move.

Steve approached his partner and gazed down at the unmoving man. He clapped Danny on the shoulder, "Looks like a home run to me."

Danny let out a breath, "Yeah. What do we do with him?"

"Take him with," Steve shrugged. "We'll pass him off to Chin if possible, and if not, we'll find a place to stash him." Steve quickly secured the man's wrists with the handcuffs Danny passed him and then scooped up the fallen gun, glad to once again be armed.

Danny motioned for the group to follow him around the corner. Steve brought up the rear, dragging the unconscious man by his handcuffed wrists. Danny slowed as he neared the multi-purpose room; he caught Steve's eye and motioned towards the door. The double doors leading into the multi-purpose room were slightly ajar. When Danny and Steve had left earlier, they had made sure to pull them closed behind them. Danny's heart raced as his imagination went wild - Gabby and Grace were in there along with several other students and adults. Were they still safe?

Most people would have missed the change in Danny's face, but Steve saw the momentary look of panic, the tell-tale narrowing of his eyes and the lips clamped shut as he realized the multi-purpose room may have been compromised. Steve motioned the group to crouch next to the wall and crooked his finger at the principal, "We're going to go check out the multi-purpose room before we bring you all in."

"Is there something wrong?" Principal Park whispered.

"We left the door closed," Steve explained. "We just want to check it out. Could you keep an eye on this guy for us? We don't want him raising an alarm." Steve pointed at their still unconscious prisoner.

"What if he starts to wake up?"

"Make sure he doesn't," Danny stated. He then leaned over and removed his left shoe followed by his sock. He smirked at Steve as he put his shoe back on and then shoved the sock in the prisoner's mouth. "That ought to help keep him quiet."

"That's just cruel, Partner," Steve smiled at him.

Danny shrugged, "That's what he gets for coming in to my daughter's school with a gun."

"Can't argue with you there," Steve agreed. "Let's go."

Steve and Danny quietly slipped into the multi-purpose room, stopping right inside the door, one on each side of the door frame, to assess the situation. Everything was quiet but the two remained where they were to allow their eyes to adjust to the darker conditions. Steve briefly held up the night vision goggles and quickly scanned the room. He put them down and checked the weapon before he motioned for Danny to approach the stage at the front of the room.

Danny approached the stage cautiously trying to listen for any threat. His heart was beating so loudly that he wasn't sure he would hear anything. He slowly reached for the door under the stage and tried not to hold his breath as he slowly eased it open. He tried to peer inside but the enclosed space was complete blackness. "Gabby? Grace?"

"Danny," Gabby's voice sounded relieved. "Oh, thank goodness."

"Is everyone okay?"

"Danno!" Grace practically launched herself at Danny. "Did you take care of the bad guys? Can we go home now?"

Danny rubbed Grace's back and kissed the top of her head, "Not yet, Gracie. We're still working on it. Gabby, did anything happen while we were gone?"

"Just a few minutes ago, we heard the door and then footsteps. At first we thought it might be you guys coming back but then the guy ran into something and cursed and we could tell it wasn't you."

Danny nodded, "Everyone okay?"

"Yeah," Gabby assured him. "The kids are doing great. They haven't made a sound. The guy didn't stay long and he never even got real close to us."

"Good, good," Danny hugged Grace and felt his heartbeat starting to calm down. He turned to Steve, "Looks like we can bring in the others."

"Others?" Gabby asked.

"We found the principal and office staff plus a room full of students. We think we have a way to get you out of here. Chin and Kono are outside checking the perimeter."

Steve and the other group joined them at the front. "Hey, Grace, Gabby, everyone okay?"

"We're okay, thanks," Gabby assured him.

Steve clapped Danny on the back and briefly laid a hand on Grace's shoulder, "I'm going to go check that exit and check in with Chin."

"Right," Danny whispered. "I'll go keep an eye on the door."

"I want to come with you, Danno," Grace held on even tighter.

"Okay, Monkey, but if I tell you to go with Gabby, you just do it. No questions. Got it?"

Grace nodded, "Uh-huh."

"Good," Danny turned to the principal. "You can all have a seat here. Make sure everyone is as quiet as possible."

Gabby followed Danny to the doors where he put Grace down and resumed his look out into the hallway. Grace clung to his leg so he kept one hand loosely on her back while he kept watch. He stole a glance over at Gabby, "How ya holding up?"

Gabby shrugged, "Okay, I guess."

"I'm sorry about this mess."

"It's not your fault, Danny," Gabby laid a hand on his shoulder.

"No, but I am sorry I'm worrying you," Danny couldn't quite meet her eyes, afraid of what he'd see.

"Hey," Gabby soothed. "I'm worried about you. About the kids, but I think I'm doing okay because I know you're good at your job. You and Steve being here today is pretty lucky."

Danny snorted, "Oh, yeah, I'm feeling lucky."

Gabby chuckled softly, "You know what I mean, Danny. You're in your element here. Would you rather be on the outside today not knowing what was going on?"

Danny looked down at Grace and back up at Gabby, "You're right. I am right where I want to be at the moment. But I do want to get you guys out of here."

"You will," she assured him. "And then you and Steve will be free to do what you need to do without worrying about us."

Danny was momentarily speechless, "Kinda scary how well you're starting to know me."

Gabby just smiled at him.

"Danno?" Grace looked up at her dad. "Are you and Uncle Steve going to be able to get the other kids out of here, too?"

"That's what we're working on, Gracie," he assured her. "Uncle Chin and Auntie Kono are outside making sure it's safe for us to come out. We're going to get all of you out of here, and then we'll go get the rest of the kids and get them out, too."

"And you and Uncle Steve will be okay, right?"

Danny smiled at his daughter, "Of course we will. We've got each other's backs."

Grace nodded solemnly, "Good."

"Danny," Gabby touched Danny's arm and nodded over to where Steve was conferring with an HPD officer.

"Cavalry's here," Danny noted.

A SWAT officer quickly came over and took Danny's position at the door so they could join Steve and the HPD officer.

"Well, if it isn't Officer Robertson!" Danny grinned at the officer.

"Detective," Officer Robertson smiled back. "Good to see you again."

"Looks like I might owe you flowers again."

Officer Robertson's smile faltered, "Please, sir, that's not necessary. I'm just doing my job. Like last time."

"What? You didn't like the roses?" Danny looked hurt.

"Oh, no, sir! They were...lovely." Robertson assured him. "But my girlfriend got a bit jealous. It took me weeks to convince her I didn't have another woman on the side."

"You told her who I was, right?" Danny looked puzzled.

"Oh, yes, sir, but she thought I was covering for 'the other woman' because the card was signed with an "I" as in D-A-N-I."

"Oh," Danny sighed. "The flower shop must have misspelled my name. Sorry about that."

"It's okay," Robertson shrugged. "We're okay now, but I'd rather not tempt it... so no flowers."

"Maybe I need to meet her..." Danny began.

Grace tugged on her dad's hand, "Danny, why did you send Officer Robertson flowers?"

Danny glanced at Grace and Gabby. He hadn't told either of them the whole story of how he met Officer Robertson, "Remember a few months ago when you and your mom were visiting your grandmother in England? Officer Robertson helped us on a case and he..."

"Kept your Danno safe," Steve chimed in. He had been about to say something about saving Danny's life but didn't want to worry the two any more than necessary.

"Yes," Danny nodded. "And I thanked him by sending him some flowers."

Gabby looked at Danny and wondered what the rest of the story was he wasn't sharing but knew it wasn't the time or place for that discussion.

"Okay, so," Danny steered the conversation away from past events. "How are we doing this?"

"There's a door back here that opens onto a small open area. It's about thirty feet of open space and then a line of shrubs. There are four SWAT officers at the shrub line keeping an eye out for trouble. Robertson is going to escort a small group of students out and past that shrub line and get them out to safety. While Robertson escorts his group, another officer is going to come here and get another group ready to go. When that group goes, Robertson will come back for another. We'll do that until this bunch is out."

Danny nodded his understanding as he listened, "And you and I are going to get more kids, right?"

"You got it. We'll take a couple officers with us to bring the students back here, and they'll get them out as quickly as they can. Two SWAT officers will stay in here to watch the kids."

Principal Park stepped up to the small group, "I will stay here as well. This is my school, and I will not leave until all the children and staff are out of here safely."

Steve was about to protest but saw the wisdom in the man's words, "Thank you. That will help keep everyone calm. You can help explain to the kids what's going on and how this is going to work. It's very important that the kids follow the escape route as quickly and quietly as possible. We don't want the shooter on the roof to have any cause to look over here and see what we're doing."

Principal Park nodded. One of the other administrators stepped up next to him, "I would like to help, too."

"Thank you, sir," Steve nodded at the man. "But we really need to get everyone out as soon as possible."

"I can help," the man insisted. He held out his hand to introduce himself. "Sergeant Luka Hara, 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Hawaii National Guard. I know this building. I can help you find the classrooms and make sure we get all the kids out."

Steve shook his hand, "Welcome aboard, Sergeant."

"Please, just call me Luka."

"Here, Danny," Steve held up a black duffel bag. "Chin sent us goodies."

"Alright!" Danny rubbed his hands together. "Let's see what we've got."

Steve unzipped the bag and what he pulled out made Danny smile. It was his weapon.

Danny clipped it to his waist and patted it, "That's better."

"Here's another clip, too. I have some more in my pocket if you need them."

"Of course you do," Danny rolled his eyes. "You wouldn't know what to do if you didn't have all those pockets."

Steve just smirked as he fastened his vest that Chin had also sent in with Robertson. He reached into the bag and pulled out a small case. He opened it to reveal two ear pieces. He quickly put one in and handed the other to Danny.

Danny put his ear piece in and checked it out, "Hey, Chin, you out there, Buddy?"

_"We're here, Danny. I take it you got our package."_

"Yeah, thanks. I think we're about to send out our first group."

_"Okay, we're ready for them. We'll let you know when we've got them."_

Steve looked at Danny and then clapped Robertson on the back, "Okay, Robertson, let's get these kids out of here."

"Yes, sir," Robertson looked at his group of six students, three fifth graders buddied up with three second graders. "Okay, kids when I say, we're going to run as fast as we can straight over to those bushes. We need to be as quiet as we can, okay? There are going to be other cops there to help us. Everybody okay?"

The kids all nodded, looking a little wide-eyed, as he explained.

Robertson stepped into the doorway and looked across at the bushes; he could just make out the SWAT officers lifting their weapons and making ready for trouble. He saw Officer Koch step up and after a quick glance up at the roof, he looked at Robertson and nodded. Robertson looked at his group and took a calming breath, "Okay, let's go!"

The kids took off running, holding the hands of their buddies. Robertson ran behind them, praying they would make it safely. As they made it past the SWAT officers and were guided by officers back to the command center, the enormity of what they were doing finally hit Robertson. An officer came over to escort his little group to a waiting bus to take them to a large church a few blocks away where parents were anxiously awaiting their children. As Robertson turned to go back, he felt little arms encircle his leg. He looked down to see a little girl hugging his leg and looking up at him. He gently leaned down to return the hug, "You're going to go with these officers now and see if your mom and dad are waiting for you."

"Thank you," and with a bright smile, she turned and got on the bus with the other students.

* * *

Everyone have a good weekend. See you next week.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Here's a little chapter to keep us moving along on this Monday. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Danny and Steve watched Robertson and his little group take off across the clearing and held their breaths. They stepped just outside the door with weapons drawn and watched for any sign of trouble. Officer Koch rushed inside and as soon as Robertson's group was out of sight, they followed him inside the school.

"_We've got them, guys,"_ Chin informed Danny and Steve._ "Ready for the next group as soon as you are."_

"Thanks, Chin." Steve watched as Principal Park helped Officer Koch get another group ready. "They'll be ready shortly. Danny and I are going to start collecting more kids. Let's keep this operation up as long as we can."

"_We're on it, Brah. We've got a spotter watching the shooter on the roof so if he looks like he's going to see the rescue, we can halt it until we're good to go again. We've got a couple others watching the windows on this side of the school for other possible problems."_

"Okay, Danny and I are moving out. Keep us updated."

_"We're monitoring you,"_ Chin informed him. "_Be safe."_

Steve turned to Danny, "You ready?"

Danny sighed and looked at Gabby and Grace. "Give me a sec, and I will be."

Steve nodded his understanding. "Sure."

Danny knelt in front of Grace and placed his hands on her shoulders to look her in the eye, "Steve and I have to go get more kids, okay?"

Grace nodded as her eyes filled with tears that threatened to fall but didn't.

"It's gonna be okay, Grace," Danny pulled her into a hug and whispered into her ear. "Danno loves you."

"I love you, too, Danno." Grace sniffled but still didn't let the tears fall. "I'm scared though."

"I know, baby, I know," Danny reassured her and pulled away to look her in the eyes again. "But you're gonna get out of here with Gabby real soon and..."

"No," Grace shook her head, pigtails flying. "I'm scared for you. And Uncle Steve."

Danny kissed her forehead, "We'll be okay, Monkey. Why don't you go tell Uncle Steve good-bye, too."

Grace nodded and headed over to Steve to give him a hug as well. Danny straightened and pulled Gabby into a quick hug, "Thanks for taking care of her."

Gabby nodded against his shoulder, "Of course. We'll be okay. You guys just watch out for yourselves, okay?"

Danny stepped back and shrugged, "Sure, what could go wrong?"

Gabby laughed, "Right! I'll make sure Grace gets to Rachel, and I'll be waiting for you."

Danny kissed her quickly and turned as Steve approached with Grace, "Thanks. Your group is going soon, but we have to go. Be careful. Grace, when it's your turn to go, you listen to Gabby and Officer Robertson, okay?"

Grace nodded, face solemn.

"We should go, partner," Steve gently prodded. He squeezed Grace's hand gently before giving her over to Gabby and patted Gabby's shoulder once before turning and heading to the door.

Two HPD officers and Sgt. Luka Hara followed him to the door. Luka was fastening a bulletproof vest as he walked. Danny gave Grace one more kiss on the head and Gabby a quick kiss on the cheek before following the others.

Gabby watched as Danny joined the others, pulling his gun from its holster as he went. She watched as Steve nodded at the SWAT officer to open the door. He quickly slid through followed closely by Danny, Luka and two HPD officers. She turned to Grace and gently urged her to join the group waiting for their turn to get out of the school.

Officer Robertson dashed into the room several moments later after Officer Koch and his group made it safely to the other side. He took a second to lean over with hands on knees and catch his breath before straightening and starting to gather his next group. He rounded up three of the younger kids and paired them with three of the older kids.

"Ma'am, Detective Williams, wanted you in this group as well." Robertson informed Gabby.

Gabby nodded and smiled at Grace, "Almost time, Grace. We'll get out of here and find your mom so you can go home."

Grace looked up at Gabby and shrugged, "Yeah, I guess so. I really want to stay until Danno and Uncle Steve are done so I know they're okay."

"I know, Grace, but I'm sure your mom is worried. She'll want to make sure you're okay and take you home. I'm going to stay and make sure your dad is okay, and I'll have him call you the minute he's done."

Grace nodded, "Okay, I'd still like to stay, but I know Mommy will be worried and won't let me come back here. You sure they'll let you stay?"

Gabby smiled, "Oh, I'm sure they'll let me stay. Matter of fact, I intend to find Uncle Chin and make sure I can stay." And as an added bonus of staying near Chin, she figured she'd know right away what was going on with Danny.

"Uncle Chin and Auntie Kono will help get Daddy and Uncle Steve out. They're good."

"Yes, they are."

"Okay, everyone," Officer Robertson rounded up his group. "Everyone ready?" He waited until everyone nodded and he had their full attention. "Okay, this is kind of a large group so we have to make sure we're very quiet. Alright, wait for my signal."

This was indeed the largest group yet to attempt escape. Along with Gabby and Grace, there were six other children, two other parents and then two school officials who were carrying the unconscious prisoner, Danny's sock still stuffed in his mouth.

Grace gripped Gabby's hand tightly as they waited tensely for Officer Robertson's signal. As soon as they had it, the group began to run. Robertson was very proud of the kids for following directions so well. The only sound to be heard was the sound of feet hitting the concrete as they ran. About halfway across the open space to freedom, they heard another sound, one Robertson had been praying not to hear: gunfire.

* * *

Ooh, did I mention this little chapter ends with a cliffie? I'll try to update soon so you're not in suspense too long.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: So it seems that a lot of you thought I was cruel for that little cliffie yesterday. I would apologize, but I'm really not all that sorry for it! However, I decided not to keep you hanging for long so here's the next chapter, short though it may be.

* * *

Steve and Danny and their little group left the multi-purpose room and made their way cautiously down the hall. They checked two classrooms which turned out to be empty. Luka informed them they were fourth grade classrooms so the kids were some of those that had been in the multi-purpose room.

As they neared the end of the first floor hallway, Steve stopped them at the bottom of a staircase leading up to the second floor. He was about to say something when he was halted

for the second time that day by the sound of gunfire.

Danny jumped at the sound of the shots. His face paled and Steve had to place a hand on his shoulder to steady him, mentally as well as physically. Danny's mouth went dry and his only thoughts were of Grace and Gabby.

"Talk to me, Chin," Steve was grateful for the contact with the outside world so they wouldn't need to speculate for long. "What's going on out there?"

_"We're trying to figure that out, Brah. Give us a minute."_

"Don't take too long. Grace and Gabby were to be in the next group out."

"_Copy that,"_ Chin responded.

The next minute stretched forever for Danny. He was trying hard not to let his imagination run wild, and just when he thought he couldn't wait any longer, he heard Chin's calming voice in his ear again, "Shooter on the roof took some shots at some trees. We don't know what set him off, but we don't see anything there. Looks like he just got bored and was letting off steam."

Danny looked like he was about to let off steam himself. He tried to keep his voice as even as he could as he spoke, "What about the group? Are they okay? Where are Grace and Gabby?"

_"Kono is checking on the last group. The shooter still hasn't moved positions on the roof so they should be okay."_

Danny held his breath as he searched Steve's eyes for some form of reassurance.

"_We have them, Brah,"_ Chin's voice was as excited as it ever was. "_Grace and Gabby are right here, and they're okay. I repeat, Grace and Gabby are okay and are right here."_

Danny's breath left him in a whoosh and he leaned over and put his hands on his knees and took deep breaths as he tried to get his heart rate to return to normal.

"Thanks, Chin," Steve responded while keeping a hand on Danny's shoulder. "Get them out of here and let them know that we're okay, too. Keep us updated."

Danny straightened and nodded his thanks to Steve. He took one more deep breath and let it out as he rolled his neck around before gripping his weapon and starting up the stairs, "Let's do this."

Danny and Steve led their group up the stairs. As they neared the double doors at the top, Danny motioned to Steve to get the door so he could slip through. Steve nodded, gripped the door handle and then held up a hand to count. One. Two. Three. Danny slipped through the door, gun ready and quickly fanned the hallway. Nothing.

The rescuers took a moment to regroup at the end of the second floor hallway. Steve motioned for one of the SWAT officers to go to the far end of the hall to keep watch. The other one he stationed at this door. Steve motioned Luka to stay with them as they approached the first door on their right. Steve quietly checked the door and then unlocked it with the master key. Danny slipped through as soon as Steve opened the door.

After quickly explaining who he was and what they were about to do, Danny led the group of students and their teacher out to the hall. Two classrooms later and they had a sizeable group on their hands. Steve turned to Luka, "You okay leading this group back to the multi-purpose room?"

"Sure."

"Okay, I'm going to have them send another couple of officers to come back with you so we can keep this going. I want to get as many of these kids out of here as we can before we find the guys responsible." Steve explained.

Danny glanced at his watch and shook his head, "This is going to take us all day."

"That's why we have to get these kids out of here," Steve keyed his comm unit. "Hey, Chin, how's it going out there?"

"_We're good. At last count we had fifty kids out of the building. How's it going on your end?"_

"It's going to take a while. We need a few more officers in here to help escort these kids. Have we had any demands yet? Any idea what the objective is here?"

"_Not a word. Kono is running through the list of kids who attend here and their parents to see if anything stands out."_

"Have her concentrate on the kids that are unaccounted for yet," Danny chimed in. "They must have found who they were looking for since it's been pretty quiet since they got here."

Steve nodded, "Good point. So now we need to figure out who these people are, which kid they were looking for and why they want that kid."

_"We're on it. We'll let you know what we come up with."_

"Chin, get us a few more uniforms in here to help with escorting the kids down to the multi-purpose room."

_"You got it. I'll send some more over."_

"Thanks, we're sending Luka down there with a group of kids so he can show them the way back here."

Luka nodded as Steve spoke with Chin and then quietly led his group down the stairs as Steve and Danny continued to clear the classrooms with the two SWAT officers keeping watch.

* * *

A/N: We still don't know what the bad guys want, but at least Danny and Steve are getting kids out, Chin and Kono are working their magic on the outside, and I didn't end this chapter on a cliffie. Are we happy now? ;-)


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: My, but we are all a sick and twisted lot, aren't we? I can not begin to tell you how many are asking for the whump to begin! However, considering I am just as sick and twisted, there will be whump - just wait for it! I kind of went light on the whump for this story, but I promise to do better with my next one...

I should have combined this first section with the end of the last chapter rather than with the second part of this one, but I didn't realize it until it was too late. I thought of posting it alone, but it's so short, I was afraid people would riot.

Okay, onward!

* * *

Gabby was relieved to see Kono jogging over as their group made it past the safety point behind the line of HPD officers. She heard Officer Robertson asking someone about the shots they had heard which had just about caused her heart to stop. Nobody seemed to know what was going on. She felt Grace tug on her hand.

"Were those gunshots? Is Danno okay?" Grace's eyes were full of worry.

Gabby squeezed her hand, "Yes, they were, but I'm sure he's okay. Look, here comes Kono; she'll be able to tell us."

As soon as Kono reached them, she knelt down and pulled Grace into a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay." She stood and gave Gabby a brief hug as well.

"What's going on?" Gabby questioned.

"We're not sure yet, but Danny said you two were in this group so I had to come make sure you were okay." She keyed her comm unit and informed Chin that the two were okay. "C'mon, let's get you all to the bus and out of here."

"Can I stay and wait for Danno?" Grace wondered.

Kono shook her head, "We're taking everyone to a safe place a few blocks from here. And your mom is waiting for you."

Grace bit her lip and nodded.

"I'm gonna get you to your mom, and then I'm coming back," Gabby informed Kono just as much as Grace. "As soon as I can, I'll have your dad give you a call. Besides, we're all going out tonight, right?"

"Do you think we still will?" Grace wanted to know. She'd been so excited about Career Day at school and Danny had promised that he had Gabby would take her out for a nice dinner that night as well.

"Of course we will," Gabby assured her, hoping she was right. "I'm sure your dad is going to be very hungry after all this."

Grace grinned and nodded. Kono couldn't help but smile as well. She turned to Gabby, "C'mon, let's get you to the bus. I'll make sure the driver knows to wait for you, and when you get back he can bring you to the command center."

"Thanks, Kono," Gabby smiled at the other woman. "Could you call if anything changes?"

"Of course," Kono led them to the bus. "Gracie, don't worry, okay? Your dad will be fine and we'll make sure he calls you as soon as he can."

Grace hugged Kono and then got on the bus still clinging to Gabby's hand.

H

5

0

Danny and Steve continued to move methodically through the halls, checking classrooms and every other nook and cranny they came across. They had cleared out four more rooms, found five kids in three different bathrooms, and even come across a janitor and two kids crammed into a broom closet. All the same, progress felt slow and there still had been no demand from the hostage-takers.

As they neared the end of a hallway, Steve held up his hand as he heard voices. He motioned for Danny to take up position on the opposite side of the hall and for the SWAT officers to take position a short distance away.

The voices quickly came closer and as they rounded the corner, Steve and Danny trained their weapons on them, and Steve spoke quietly but firmly, "Five-O! Don't open your mouth."

Danny stepped closer and stuck the barrel of his gun into the mouth of the man closest to him as he did indeed open his mouth, "What part of 'don't open your mouth' did you not comprehend?"

The man's eyes widened but the only sound as Danny removed his gun was the click of his teeth as his mouth snapped closed.

SWAT quickly secured the two men as Steve gave them his best death-glare. He stepped up to the man nearest him and towered over the man, "Where are you holding the hostages, and what do you want?"

The man gulped but remained maddeningly silent. Steve glanced at Danny and gave an almost imperceptible nod that only Danny caught. Danny stepped up and tapped his gun on his man's chest. "You wanted to talk a moment ago so why don't you start now?"

The man's eyes darted nervously but he remained silent.

Danny may not have been able to tower over his man and intimidate by his sheer physical presence, but the man took a half step back as Danny's eyes drilled into him and his voice was low and dangerous as he spoke, "This is my daughter's school. You _will_ tell us what we want to know. I've been in a mood to shoot someone for a couple hours now, and if I don't start getting some answers as to what's going on, you're going to be as good a target as anybody. Now, where are you holding the hostages, and what do you want?"

"Okay, okay, don't shoot! Don't shoot. I don't know what he wants. I swear to you. I was just paid to be here."

Danny fisted the man's shirt and levered him up against the wall, "You're telling me that you're in a school with a gun holding kids hostage, and you don't even know why? You are terrorizing innocent children for money and that's it?"

"Danny," Steve cautioned.

"Unbelievable!" Danny let go of the man in disgust. "Where are they?"

The man jerked his head towards the stairwell, "Up the stairs, down the hall and up another little flight of stairs in a little room up there."

"How many kids?" Steve questioned. "How many of you up there?"

The man shrugged, "I dunno, about ten kids maybe and a teacher. And, um, three of us."

"Alright," Steve turned to the nearest SWAT officer. "Take these two down and get them out of here. We're gonna get this last hallway cleared and figure out a way to get the hostages out."

"Yes, sir."

"Bring Luka back with you; he might be able to tell us the best way to approach that room. And maybe even which kids are in there. Might help us narrow down our target list." Danny put in and turned back to find Steve re-securing the prisoners' handcuffs. "What are you doing?"

Steve shrugged, "Making sure they don't cause any problems." He fastened the second set of handcuffs and then surveyed his work. Deciding something was lacking, he glanced around the hall before smiling and heading towards a utility closet a few feet away.

Danny watched as Steve came back grinning, two strips of cloth in his hand. Steve shoved a cloth in each prisoner's mouth and then nodded, satisfied. Danny looked over the prisoners and couldn't help but smile at his partner's handy work. The first prisoner's left hand was pulled behind his back and handcuffed to the second prisoner's right hand. The second prisoner's left arm was draped over the first one's shoulders and handcuffed to the man's right hand. The cloths from the utility closet looked to be old rags that hadn't been cleaned in months.

"There," Steve handed them off to the SWAT officer. "They shouldn't give you any problems. If they do, shoot 'em and leave 'em."

"Yes, sir," the SWAT officer could see Steve's wink as he spoke, but the two prisoners could not. The officer didn't think there would be any problems as he prodded them forward.

Danny glanced at his watch as the prisoners were escorted down the hall. His attempt at curbing his sigh was only half successful.

"You got a hot date or something, Danno?" Steve smirked.

"As a matter of fact, I do. With two of the most beautiful girls on this island. Gabby and I were going to take Grace out to a nice dinner tonight."

"You'll still get to," Steve told him. "We'll have this wrapped up by then. The paperwork can wait until tomorrow."

Danny waved away his concern about that, "Yeah, but think about it, Steve. Whoever these people are and whatever they want, think about the timing. They haven't made any demands from anybody... that we know of, but they've taken a kid hostage for a reason that probably has to do with a parent or some other relative. School would be letting out in just over an hour if it was a normal day. Whatever these people want, you can bet they expect to have it by the end of the school day."

Steve nodded, "Which means we're running out of time."

"We have to figure out what student they were looking for and figure out why they are using him or her as leverage."

"Agreed," Steve concurred. "Let's see if Chin and Kono have had any luck narrowing the field, and when Luka gets back we'll figure out the best way to clear that hall and breach the room with the hostages."

Danny struggled not to pace the hall as he ran a hand through his hair, "Dammit, I hate it when kids are involved."

Steve watched his partner as he keyed the comm system to Chin, "Hey, Chin, how's it going?"

"_Slow but steady,"_ Chin observed. "_Howzit with you two?"_

"We just got two more hostiles that should be headed your way shortly. I don't think they know anything of importance, but it wouldn't hurt to ask them again and see what they do know."

_"You got it."_

"Has Kono made any progress with the list of possible targets?"

_"She has it narrowed down to about fifty-five students but it's taking time to figure out their family connections so it's slow going."_

"Have her send the list to me, and I'll run it by Luka to see what he knows about any of the kids, but have her keep on it."

_"You got it, Brah."_

"The two hostiles we just took out gave us a location on the hostages," Steve informed him. "We have one more hallway of classrooms between here and there to clear out."

"We're gonna have to clear that hallway as quickly as we can," Danny pointed out. "We'll probably want more uniforms since we're running out of time. We'll need to get that sniper taken care of, too."

_"Just tell me how many you need, and I'll get them on their way. SWAT already has an idea about how to take care of the sniper so just give us the word, and they'll do their thing."_

Danny and Steve briefly conferred and decided that an additional dozen officers would be plenty. Probably more than necessary, but at this stage in the operation, better safe than sorry.

"Chin, Luka's back so we're going to talk to him about our strategy to get the rest out of here," Steve informed him. "We'll get back with you shortly."

"_Kono just sent you that information you wanted. Twelve more HPD officers are on their way in to your location. We'll be standing by."_

"Thanks, Chin." Steve acknowledged before turning to Luka. He and Danny quickly filled in the National Guard man on the situation, and they began discussing options.

None of the options seemed great to Danny's way of thinking, but his stomach didn't start to tighten until Luka looked over the list of possible kids and suddenly the whole mess of a day started to make more sense.

* * *

Hmm, so what does Danny see on the list?

Thank you to everyone who takes the time to comment - I very much appreciate it, and you are giving me a much needed boost after a rough few weeks. Mahalo.


	8. Chapter 8

Gabby watched Chin as he talked to Steve and Danny. She had been sitting in the corner of the tactical command vehicle - fancy semi trailer, to her way of thinking - for a couple hours trying to stay out of the way and not pester anyone too much. She was worried but trying not to come across as the worrying, hysterical girlfriend. She wanted Danny to be proud of the way she handled herself and not embarrass him in front of his friends by being in their way. In fact, she was worried about him, but she was more worried about the children still stuck in the school.

She was grateful any time Chin was in contact with the guys because she knew they were safe, and any time she could hear Danny's voice, she was reassured even more. She had seen him working before but never in this way, and she now had a better understanding of how well their team worked together. From what she could tell, the four members of Five-O could almost read each others' minds as they seemed to know what the other team members needed before completely verbalizing it. She glanced over at Kono who was still slogging away at the mounds of data concerning the hostages and their families. Gabby was startled out of her thoughts by a knock at the door followed by it opening to reveal Officer Robertson pushing two handcuffed men ahead of him.

Chin smiled as he saw the two handcuffed men, "Let me guess, Officer Robertson, you were not the one that handcuffed these two."

Robertson remained straight-faced but had a glint in his eye, "No, sir, I believe the SWAT officer said something about them being handcuffed the proper way and may have entangled themselves somehow."

Kono snorted from where she was working and muttered, "Yeah, or the boss may have helped them a little bit."

"Well, let's see if they have anything interesting to say." Chin removed the first prisoner's gag.

The man gagged and made a face as Chin removed the gag from his mouth. He started to spit but Kono's voice stopped him, "Don't you dare!"

The man's eyes widened at first and then lowered and he once again made to spit onto the floor of the tactical vehicle. This time it was Chin's voice that stopped him, "She means it, you know. If you do it, she'll make you clean it up, and if you refuse she'll clean it up with your face."

The man looked at Chin and then at Kono who was now glaring at him over her shoulder. He quickly swallowed.

Chin nodded and clapped him on the shoulder, "That's better. Now, start talking. Tell us what's going on with you and your buddies. Why are you holding innocent children hostage?"

The man glared at Chin, "I already told your friends in there that I don't know what's going on. I was paid to be here and follow directions. I don't know what's going on, but I do know that I want to file a complaint about those two in there."

Chin's eyebrows shot up and he shot Kono a look and half-smile, "Really? What kind of complaint do you have?"

"They're crazy; both of them. The short one put his gun in my mouth and threatened to shoot me. And the taller one, he's the one that cuffed us like this." The man shrugged as best he could as if they needed reminding about how the two men were cuffed together.

"So let me get this straight," Chin's face was unreadable. "Does your complaint involve a hand grenade?"

"No."

"Bungee cords?"

"No."

"Shark cage?"

"No."

Chin shrugged, "Then I don't know why you're complaining. So you don't know which kid you're after or why?"

"I'm telling you, I don't know nothing. I just heard that this guy needed some muscle, and I needed a job."

Chin struggled not to sigh. He could only imagine what Danny's reaction had been like. "Officer Robinson, get them out of here. Someone can take them to the station and put them in Holding for now."

Robertson nodded and escorted the two prisoners away with the ungagged prisoner loudly protesting their treatment as they went.

Chin turned and opened his mouth to say something to Gabby when he was interrupted by the com and Steve's voice. "Yeah, Steve, what do you guys have?" There was a pause while Chin motioned for Kono and pushed a button. "Steve, I have you guys on speaker now. We can all hear you."

_"We think we know who the target is,"_ Steve informed them.

Chin's and Kono's heads snapped up and they locked eyes. Kono couldn't help but ask the obvious question, "Who?"

_"The kid's name is Micah Severson."_ Danny supplied. _"His dad is..."_

"Judge Severson?" Chin wondered.

_"The one and only,"_ Danny said.

"Toughest judge in town," Kono breathed.

_"Micah just started school here two weeks ago according to Luka,"_ Steve informed them.

"Two weeks?" Chin questioned. "That's not much time to plan something like this."

_"Which might be why Dumb and Dumber don't know anything useful."_ Danny figured.

_"And Judge Severson just started a big case today,"_ Steve put in. _"Duke was telling me about it because he's one of the arresting officers."_

Chin nodded, "So they're using Micah as leverage. They want him to throw the trial or something.

_"Kono, see if you can get a hold of Duke and find out if there's been anything weird going on at the courthouse today or with Judge Severson."_

"I'm on it, Boss," Kono acknowledge and quickly went back to her station to call Duke.

_"Get back to us as soon as you talk to Duke. We're gonna fine-tune our strategy."_

"You got it," Chin assured him. "We'll get right back to you."

Kono finished her call to Duke and turned to Chin, "He's going to see what he can find out and get back to us as soon as he can."

Chin nodded and not for the first time that day, hoped for a positive outcome to the day's events, but they were finally getting somewhere.

* * *

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review! It's always so much fun to know what you think of the story, and I'm glad you are enjoying it. Just a couple chapters left!


	9. Chapter 9

Steve and Danny watched the last of the kids disappear down the hallway accompanied by several HPD officers. The final hallway was clear; there was now nothing between them and the room where Micah and his classmates were being held hostage.

Danny rotated his neck to crack it and looked over at Steve who was doing the same thing. The partners caught each other unintentionally mirroring each other and broke out into grins.

"Well, then," Danny said. "I guess it's time to do this."

Steve nodded briskly, "You heard the man, Chin. We're ready. Time to take out that shooter on the roof."

_"We're on it,"_ Chin reported. _"We'll let you know when you're a go."_

On the roof of the school two SWAT officers, who had silently rappelled up to the roof and taken cover behind a pair of air conditioning units, received the go-ahead in their ear pieces and slowly advanced on the shooter who was currently sitting on the edge of the roof on the opposite side. His rifle was leaning against his leg. As the SWAT officers rushed him with guns drawn and yelling to get on his belly, the man lost his balance and almost fell off the roof. A quick grab from one of the officers was all that kept him from ending up on the pavement below. The officers quickly secured him and took him into custody.

Steve and Danny waited tensely while waiting for Chin's clearance to breach the classroom where the hostages were being held. They each stood in a doorway on opposite sides of the hall, weapons in hand. The only time their gaze wavered from the door was when Luka came back down the hall, joining Danny in his doorway and trying to keep out of sight of the room in case the door opened.

_"Okay, guys, the shooter is taken care of so you're good to go whenever you are ready."_

"Thanks, Chin," Steve responded, SEAL action face firmly in place.

_"You guys be careful,"_ Kono told them.

"We'll be as careful as we can, but we're getting those kids out of there and taking care of the ringleader... whoever he is." Danny's face was as serious as Steve had ever seen it.

_"We have more officers standing by to help with evacuation of the remaining kids."_ Chin told them. _"We have you on speaker so we can monitor so just holler if you need backup. Watch yourselves."_

"I have a feeling you're going to know without asking if we need backup," Danny muttered.

"You ready, Danno?" Steve asked.

"Let's get these kids home to their parents," Danny nodded. "Besides, I have a date to get to."

"Let's do it," Steve agreed. "Chin, we're going in."

_"Be careful, Brah."_

"Luka, get kids to safety once they get out of that room." Steve turned to Danny. "Let's go."

Steve and Danny stepped out of their doorways and cautiously made their way to the bottom of the small staircase leading up to the classroom. They paused a moment to listen but could hear nothing more than a faint mumble coming from the room. At Steve's nod, they began to ascend the stairs which were just wide enough for the two men shoulder to shoulder.

The voices from the room became louder and more defined as they climbed the stairs. They couldn't tell what exactly was being said but the angry tone of voice and the quiet crying of several children in the background was enough. They exchanged looks and Steve made several hand gestures. Danny nodded his understanding, face determined as he gripped his gun.

Steve held up a hand and mouthed the count as he held up the appropriate number, "One... two... three..."

The two men dashed up the final two steps and crashed through the door into the small classroom, and all hell broke loose.

Chin, Kono and Gabby waited tensely in the command truck. They strained to hear anything over the comm unit connected to Steve and Danny. Chin thought he could hear one of them take a breath every now and then and could picture their movements. He was wishing they had visual to go with the audio so they knew for sure what was going on.

The sudden crash followed by shouting and children crying made those in the command center jump. Gabby gasped as she heard gunshots while Chin immediately mobilized the standby SWAT units to move in on their position. Suddenly, one voice was heard over all others. Steve's.

Gabby's hands flew to cover her mouth as she listened to Steve, his voice unnaturally loud over the intercom, _"Drop your weapon. Now! Get down on the floor... Danny! Danny? Officer down! We need EMS! I repeat Officer Down..."_

* * *

Oh, man, am I going to hear it from all of you now! *evil laugh*

As always, your comments are appreciated. For those of you in the states, enjoy your Labor Day weekend and stay safe.


	10. Chapter 10

As Steve and Danny crashed through the classroom door, it only took a split second to take in the scene. To the left, huddled in a corner, was the teacher trying to shield several students. To the right, were two men dressed in black, both armed. The man closest to the door seemed to be holding a camcorder which he was pointing at the back of the room. The man farthest from the door, and partially blocked by the man with the camcorder, was pointing a gun towards the back of the room where a young boy was tied to a hard backed wooden chair while another man dressed in black, stood behind and slightly to the side of him, also with a gun in his hand.

Steve, bursting in from the right, saw all of that as if it was a picture framed for his viewing. He also noticed that the man farthest from the door seemed to be in charge and was getting ready to fire. Steve couldn't get a clean shot on the leader due to the camcorder wielding suspect. One shot had the camcorder falling to the floor as that suspect took a shot to the side and went down screaming. Steve adjusted his aim for the second man just as the suspect opened fire on the back of the room. Steve's shot killed him instantly but not before he had gotten off three shots.

Danny, bursting in from the left, also took in the scene in a heartbeat. Trusting that Steve would take out the two men on his side, Danny sprang for the boy tied to the chair. He couldn't risk a shot to take out the man holding the gun on the kid, but Danny's priority was making sure the boy was safe. Taking a step, he then stepped on a little desk and launched himself over the row of desks and grabbed the boy, bringing him down chair and all. Most importantly, Danny was between the boy and the shooter. He heard the three gunshots while pain simultaneously bloomed on his back and shoulder.

Danny heard Steve yell at the other gunman to get down and a request for EMS, but he was too busy trying to draw a breath and he wasn't letting go of the boy until he knew the threat was over. He felt hands on him but kept his grip tight on the boy. He didn't loosen until he heard his partner's worried voice, "Danny? Danny, you okay? C'mon, buddy, talk to me. EMS is on the way so hang on."

_"Steve?"_ Chin's voice came over their comm unit, momentarily startling the two men as they suddenly remembered they were connected to the outside world. _"What's going on? How's Danny?"_

"The room is secure, Chin," Steve informed them. "I'm checking Danny now."

_"EMS and SWAT should be there any moment to pick up the suspects."_

Steve looked up as he heard noise at the door. He started to raise his weapon but just as quickly lowered it again as he saw Luka enter and gesture at the group of students still huddled in the corner. Luka quietly helped the teacher get the kids out to the hall where HPD officers were waiting to escort them out of the building. Luka approached Steve, "Is he okay? Can I help?"

Danny squirmed under Steve's hands, "Get Micah out of here. I'm okay."

Steve quickly righted Micah's chair and used his knife to free the boy from the duct tape holding him to the chair. "You okay, Micah?"

The boy nodded, tears swimming in his eyes.

"C'mere, Micah," Luka held out a hand to the youngster. "Let's get you out of here."

Steve nodded gratefully at the man. "Get him to the command center. My people are working on getting in touch with his dad."

Luka nodded and led the boy out of the room.

Steve returned his attention to Danny, "Alright, Danno, let's take a look at you."

Danny sat up and gave Steve a look, "I'm not that kind of guy, McGarrett."

"Very funny, Danny. Now, c'mon, where are you hit?"

_"Hey, guys,"_ Chin broke in. _"Not that I want to break up a moment or anything, but Kono would like to fill you in on Judge Severson and I think Gabby is about to run in there unless you tell us how Danny is."_

"I'm fine.. OW!"

_"You sure about that, brah?"_

"I will be once our Neanderthal leader gets his hands off me," Danny groused. "Really, tell Gabby I'm fine, and we'll be out soon."

_"Will do."_

"Chin, Micah Severson is on his way out. He's okay, but he'll need to be looked over just to be sure. Kono find out what was happening with Duke and Judge Severson?"

_"I just heard from Duke,"_ Kono informed them. _"Turns out the ringleader at the school had an accomplice in the courtroom, a couple cousins trying to keep the defendant out of jail. They managed to get a pad to the judge and were sending him live images of Micah and the other kids as hostages."_

"That explains the guy with the camcorder," Steve noted.

_"As soon as the accomplice saw that Judge Severson wasn't going to do what they wanted, he pulled a gun and tried to shoot the judge."_

Steve and Danny exchanged looks before Steve had to ask, "Everyone okay?"

_"Oh, yeah, brah,"_ Chin deadpanned. _"Turns out he was sitting near half a dozen out of uniform HPD officers who were waiting their turn to testify."_

Danny laughed, "Nice!"

"Make sure Judge Severson knows Micah is okay. We'll be out soon." Steve told him.

_"Okay, we're disconnecting comm. See you in a few."_

"Alright, Danny," Steve looked over his partner. "Take off your vest and let me see."

"I told you, McGarrett, I'm not that kind of guy."

"Shut up, Danno, and let me take a look at your back. And EMS is going to have to look at your arm; you're bleeding."

"Alright, alright," Danny gave in. He hissed a little as Steve helped him take off his bulletproof vest and then lifted up his shirt.

Steve whistled, "That's going to hurt."

"Going to?" Danny flinched.

"You took two to the vest. That's going to be a nice bruise, and it looks like the third shot just grazed your shoulder and the top of your arm."

Danny slowly moved his arm, "Not even as bad as the first day we met." The two grinned at each other momentarily as they remembered their first less than stellar outing as partners.

"Sir, may I take a look at that?" A paramedic gestured at Danny's arm.

"Sure," Danny sat up against the wall and held his arm out. "Knock yourself out."

The paramedic quickly and expertly dressed Danny's wound, "You're going to be bruised there on your back. Even though your vest stopped the bullets, it's not a bad idea to let a doctor check you out to make sure you don't have any internal damage."

Danny nodded, pulling his shirt back down and the sleeve over his now-bandaged arm.

"C'mon, partner," Steve held out a hand to help him up off the floor. "Let's get out of here."

"I'm with you," Danny gratefully accepted the hand up. He suddenly felt a hundred years old. "This was the longest day of school in my life!"

As the two men left the school building, they paused to watch the frenetic activity still taking place. The last of the kids were being taken by bus while the bomb squad entered to take care of the explosives on the front door.

Danny sighed, "This could have been so much worse." He shuddered at the thought.

"But it wasn't," Steve pointed out.

"Yeah," Danny looked up at his partner with a grateful smile. "Thanks."

"Look on the bright side," Steve encouraged him. "I bet Judge Severson will give us a warrant any time we want one now."

Danny chuckled, "You have a point."

Steve nodded but was unable to respond as Gabby came running towards them.

"Danny!" Gabby threw herself in Danny's arms and hung on tightly. "Thank God you're okay."

Danny winced as the force of her hug sent twinges of pain radiating from the wound on his back and arm. "I'm okay." He gently pushed her back to look into her eyes. "You okay?"

Gabby smiled and nodded, "Yeah, yeah, I'm okay. I'm so thankful you two put an end to this."

"So are we." Steve agreed. "Hey, Danno, go. The paperwork will wait for tomorrow. Go get Grace and go on your date. We'll see you tomorrow."

"I won't argue with you." Danny assured him as he put an arm around Gabby's waist and started to lead her away from the school.

"Good night, Gabby," Steve smiled. "Good night, Danny."

Danny led Gabby away without once looking back at the school building. Suddenly it wasn't nearly as intimidating as it had been a few hours before. He was just glad that he had been able to attend Career Day for his daughter so he was in the right place at the right time and all the kids were able to go home that night and be back with their families. It had been a good day.

* * *

A/N: I hope that made up for my nasty cliff hanger the other day! Only a little epilogue to go before this one is complete. Happy Labor Day tomorrow to all my American and Canadian readers.


	11. Epilogue

Two weeks later, The Academy of the Sacred Hearts held an appreciation day for all officers and other emergency personnel who responded on Career Day. Danny and Steve were presented plaques while Officers Koch and Robertson were given homemade cards from several of the children they had helped escort from the building. After the ceremony Danny watched as a little girl came up to Officer Robertson and shyly tugged on his pants leg. She handed him a bouquet of flowers with a card attached to it. Robertson knelt down and gave her a quick hug before she skipped away.

As Robertson stood, he took the card out of the flowers and read it. His smiling face suddenly dropped.

"What is it, Robertson?" Danny had to ask as he saw his reaction.

"My girlfriend is going to kill me."

"Why?"

Robertson mutely handed him the card. Danny's eyes widened as he read it, and then he burst out laughing. He wiped tears from his eyes when he could finally speak. "Classic. Just classic. I so want to be there when you show her those flowers."

Robertson looked at the card and shook his head. The picture on the card showed an officer holding the hand of a little girl with a large "Thank You!" written at the bottom. On the inside it read, "Love Dani!"

Danny was still laughing when Grace came and grabbed him by the hand and pulled him away from the red-faced Robertson.

* * *

A/N: Well, that's it for this one! Thank you to everyone who read, followed and most of all, reviewed. I appreciate you all very much. 3 more weeks until season 3!


End file.
